“Well, he started it. Serve him right for trying to shoot me from
behind,” I shrug.

“I thought that we only need to capture them. Not to kill them,”
says Raven.

“No, Raven. The order is to eliminate them,” says Stefan.

“And take his blood. But I don’t want to drink from this one. He’s
too skinny,” I crouch down to the headless body which the red blood is still
flowing. Deen crouches down next to me and takes out a bottle from her bag
pack. Then she begins to shift the blood into the bottle. Then the headless
body turns into dust.

“This one is not bad. Maybe after I purify it, it’s going to be
tasty,” beams Deena as she has done shifting the blood and purifying it by
using magic.

“Are you sure, Deena? This one doesn’t look tasty for me. Let’s find
another three. Maybe their blood is much tastier,” I smile, showing my fangs to
her. Deena giggles and we begin our next move.

“Uhh…guys. Before we leave, I think we forget something,” says Raven
and points to the severe head.

“Oh, the head,” says Deena, Stefan and I in unison. Deena burns the
head until it turns to dust.

After being trained for two weeks and a half, I am now officially an
assassin. I don’t want to tell you what kind of training that I’ve been through
for they can’t be explained by words, which means there are horrible. I nearly
died in one of the training. Thank God that SimpleThing Jeff is with me. If
not, I don’t think I can make it this far.

My team and I are been given a task to eliminate the bank robbers.
Since we’re nocturnal, we hunt during the night. And the robbers are active in
such time. Stefan turns into a werewolf while Raven turns into a big wolf and
begin to track their scent.

They are not far. We can
catch them in no time. Says Stefan.

“We need to scatter. Raven, you go to the back door. Stefan, you go
to the left and I’ll go to the right. Alice, you go to the roof top since you
have better eye-sight,” Deena winks at me. “If you guys found them make a
contact through Mini,” Deena gives order since she’s the leader.

Three of us nod in unison. “Roger that!”

Then we scatter within no time. I jump on the roof top and look
around. This building is five-storey building. Those robbers can’t go very far.
I stand on the edge of the building and use my night vision to search for them.
Then my Mini beeps.

“Alice, one of them runs to the roof top. He’s all yours,” Deena’s voice
echoes from the Mini.

“Bring it on!” I beam and get ready to greet my second victim. It doesn’t
take long to wait for him. As he reaches the roof top, he suddenly stops when
his gaze meets mine.

“Welcome,” I spread my hand as if I am longing to see him. “Lovely
night, isn’t it?”

“Who…who are you?” his voice shake and pulls out a knife from the
pocket.

“Me? I’m just a girl who loves high places,” I take a step slowly
approaching him. I smile evilly at him, showing my beautiful fangs.

“Wh-what are you?” he’s shock to see the fangs of mine. I ignore him
and take a step forward. “Stay back! Or I’ll stab you!” he warns in panic.

I giggle. Like I’m scared with his little knife.

“What’s so funny?” he asks and still in panic.

“Nothing,” I shrug and teleport behind him. “I just love to see your
shocking face,” I whisper behind his ears while putting one of my swords to his
throat. That man stiffens. “I see you’re shaking,” I giggle and cut his head
off. His head rolls on the floor. Blood splutters everywhere.

I press my Mini and put it near my mouth. “Mine is down.”

“Me either,” replies Stefan and Raven.

We manage to eliminate all those robbers in two hours. That’s a
record for our team.

Stefan arrives at the roof top, and Raven comes along few moments later.
She looks disgustingly at the headless body.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared, Raven?” I tease her.

“I’m not scared. Just don’t like to see the head rolls. Yuk!” Raven
sticks out his tongue. Stefan and I laugh.

“Well, killing two people in one night is great. I have a wonderful
night, tonight,” I look at the sky. “It’s nearly full moon.”

“Yeah. And next month, we’re going to turn 18,” says Stefan who is
looking at the half moon, too.

“Or maybe 100. Who knows? I’m curious to know my exact age,” I
shrug.

“I hate being old,” sighs Raven.

“It’s just our age, Raven. We’re not going to be old that fast,” I
chuckle. Then Deena appears.

“You like to cut off heads, right Alice?” says Deena. I just smile.

We go back to the Academy after accomplishing our mission. Before we
head to our respective rooms, we need to report ourselves to Zayne who is
waiting for us in his room. Deena hands the D-vice to Zayne. Zayne reads the
report which is written in it smiles at us proudly.

“Well done, guys. You may leave now except Alice and Stefan. There’s
something I want to discuss with them,” says Zayne. Deena and Raven bows in
respect and leave.

I can’t concentrate much in the class tonight. I’m still thinking of
what I saw last night. Fortunately, this is only the briefing class for the new
semester. Everything has been installed and updated in our D-Vice so all we need
to do is refer to it. There will be a lot of training sessions for our class,
the Elite Class, since we are automatically nominated to be assassins. And yes,
we’re still searching for Cody since he left the Academy for months, or I
should say, he betrayed his clan and ran away with super evil creature.

My cousin, Adam, is our class advisor. He’s one of the great
vampire-assassin and he used to be in one team with Jeff. Even though he looks
kind of nerd (because he likes to wear a spectacle though he has a very good
vision; all vampires have good vision), but he is as great as Jeff. Whenever he
was given a task or mission, he never failed. But he’s quite funny person whom
I can get along well.

Adam explains about the second semester where he states that this is
the toughest semester for all of us. We don’t know when Alse might come back
and attack us, so we need to be extra careful and extra aware. He stresses on
the word extra. After the briefing class, we scatter to the night cafeteria
since we’re hungry. Some go back to their respective rooms, some go to the
library and some go to the gym. Abbie, Stefan and I go to the library since I
ask them to discuss something. But before that, I ask them to follow me to the Vampire
Parlour at the north wing.

Both of Abbie and Stefan is shock when I show them the writings
below Jeff’s portrait. After that, we adjourn to the library. We take a seat a
little bit far from anyone else and I grab some books about the four clans.

“I think our parents are hiding something very important to us,” I
say and show the page about the age of our clan. “Our longevity.”

“You’re right. I mean, why they want to hide our real age from us? I
thought I’m 18,” Abbie agrees.

“Maybe they have their own explanation. Or, they wanted to get the
right time to tell us,” says Stefan. “I can’t believe that Jeff’s real age was
300 years old. Maybe Zayne is 300 years old too.”

“Me neither. I couldn’t help staring at the mirror, thinking about
my real age,” I close the book.

“I think we should let them tell us in the right. The most important
thing that we need to do is focus on our training. We have special training 4
times a week,” Stefan cracks the silence. He seldom does that.

“I agree with Stefan, Abbie. Right now, we need to be stronger to
defeat Alse. Besides, we’re not human beings. Of course we live longer than
them,” I nod.

Abbie shrugs. “That’s fine by me too. Oh, let’s go to the cafeteria.
My stomach is calling for food!” She stands up, grabs my hands and Stefan’s and
teleport to the cafeteria.

I walk to the parlour once again to watch the portrait of Jeff. Even
though the SimpleThing change into Jeff, but he’s not like the real Jeff. I
really miss the real Jeff most. I don’t know how long I gaze at his portrait
but there’s someone else in this parlour watching me from behind. I heard
someone is clearing the throat and I quickly turn around. It’s a hooded-man who
proclaims that he’s my guardian.

“Sorry for surprising you, Alice. I didn’t mean to watch you from
behind,” says the guardian.

I just stare at him.

“I know you miss Jeff so much. He’s a good brother and also a good
Commander. I also feel sad about his lost,” says the guardian and takes a step
next to me.

The spirit Jeff is also standing next to me but the guardian can’t
see him. I’m sure that he can’t because he doesn’t even glare at Jeff.

“You knew my brother?” I ask.

“I’ve known him since he was very small, Alice. It was many, many
years ago. You’re not even born yet that time. He’s a kid with a special
talent. And yet, he’s very down-to-earth person. He entered this Academy when
he was 80 years old. 13 years old in human age,” the guardian smiles.

“If you knew Jeff when he was small, then your age must be…,” I
frown.

“Way older than him. But it’s not the right time for you to know who
I really am. The important thing now is dealing with Alse. She’s not dead yet
and she will come back. In the mean time, I want you to get ready for her
arrival,” he says.

“Why Alse is targeting me even she wants Stefan’s blood too?” I ask.
I hope I can get the clear answer this time.

The guardian only looks at me and smiles. “You need to find out
yourself.” Then, he disappears.

“Why? Are you afraid that you’ll vanish?” I chuckle. This Jeff is
quite funny and gets panic easily. I wonder if he’s reliable to carry out his
duty as he had promised Jeff.

“That’s one thing,” he chuckles while scratching the back of his
head. “But that man really sends chill down to my spine.”

“Oh, really? Are you sure you have spine in the first place? You’re
only a spirit,” I tease him.

“Hey, a spirit can get scared, you know?” he pouts.

I laugh at him and he’s still making his sulky face. Then, we go
back to my room. It’s nearly dawn and I need a good sleep for the class tomorrow.
Abbie is getting ready to sleep when I reach the room. I tell her I went to the
parlour before coming here. Jeff is watching outside. He wants to guard the
door even if I ask him to get back to the necklace.

We are now gathering at the Great Hall. I sit next to Abbie while
Stefan sits next to me. The hall is filled with loud whispers from others while
waiting for the Elders to come. Our parents also come and they sit at the front
rows. I can see Mom and Dad sitting next to each other while Stefan’s parents
sit next to mine. Not long after all the students filling the hall, the Elders
appear on the top of the stage. They are wearing the formal attire according to
the clan.

Grandma Zelda steps forward to the rostrum and tap the mike. The
hall turns silence. Then she clears her throat. “Welcome to the Great Hall,
ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for coming today. Let’s begin our special
ceremony. Don’t worry, it won’t be long, I promise,” Grandma Zelda beams.
Everyone chuckles but not very loud. “After we had lost our First-Commander in
Assassin Squad, we did a meeting with the Elders and Members of the Board. We
decided to appoint Zayne Silver as the new First Commander of the Assassin
Squad,” announces Grandma Zelda.

When Zayne steps in front of the stage, everybody stands up and
gives a round of big applause, including me, Stefan and Abbie. Zayne gives a little
speech, saying thank you and vow to be a good commander. He is the one who’s
capable to be our new First Commander. After the ceremony, both Stefan and I go
to meet Zayne. We congratulate him and he’s very happy. Next, his parents show
up and hug him tight. I still remember when Jeff was appointed to be the First
Commander. Mom and Dad hugged him tight and then Jeff hugged us, his siblings.

Zayne startles me as he pats on my head, just like Jeff used to do.
I look at him and smile. He says that he’s going to treat me like Jeff did.
Then, we go to the dining hall for supper. I need to eat something before going
to sleep. I have hunting class tomorrow and I bet it’s going to be fun.

Monday, 18 June 2012

“What do you mean?” asks Stefan. He takes a step in front of me for
he’s not sure whether that man is truly Jeff or not.

“I know that I freaked you guys out just now. I’m Jeff but not your
real brother,” he shifts his gaze at me. “I only change into his figure. Jeff transferred
his remaining soul into that necklace. And when the necklace touches my
elemental body, I change into him, just like now.”

Both Stefan and I stare at him in silence.

“Jeff often came here and met me. One day, he told me that he’ll
die. Then, he told me that I will take his place to protect the most important
person in his entire life, which is you, Alice. That’s why I decided to make a
contract with Jeff. Once his life was taken away, I’ll take over his place. And
when I enter your world, only the wearer of the necklace can see me,” he
explains.

“So, I can’t see you when we get out of this place?” asks Stefan.
Jeff nods.

“Only Alice can see me. This is for her safety since Alse is
targeting her,” replies Jeff.

“But Alse wanted Stefan’s blood too,” I cut in.

“I know. But Alse wants more from you. I don’t know the reason but
that is what Jeff had told me. I’ll stay in the necklace as a spirit and Alice,
you can summon me anytime that you want. But, you can’t tell this to other
people. Jeff said that once you reveal the secret, I’ll vanish,” he says in a
serious voice.

This is getting weird. First, Jeff’s death. And now, this. I thought
Jeff is coming back to life but I was wrong. There are lots of thing that I need
to ask him but the questions just linger in my mind. I don’t know where to
start. Suddenly, something comes across my mind.

“You said Jeff put half of his soul in the necklace,” I say. Jeff
nods. “When?” I ask.

“The night that he died,” Jeff replies.

I remembered when I hugged him for the last time, I felt something
warm absorbed into the necklace. Maybe that was the time when Jeff transferred
his soul into this. I grip the necklace and sigh. Stefan puts his hand on my
left shoulder, saying that I should calm myself down.

“I may not be your real brother but I’ll carry my duty as I promise.
I hope that you can accept me as I am,” says Jeff, looking straight at me.

I look at him for a while and smile. “Sure. At least I still have my
brother’s soul with me.”

After that, we go back home. Jeff transfers his spirit into my
necklace when I reach my room. It’s nearly dawn and it’s time to rest.

Now I am craving for meat. I’m now in my family’s chamber, laying
flat on the couch, facing Mom who is preparing for dinner. Dad, Ace and Sable
are out, playing golf, perhaps.

“Mom, can you cook grilled-beef for tonight?” I ask, still laying
flat on the couch. I’m too lazy to walk up to her.

“Grilled-beef? It’s rare for you to ask for beef, Alice dear. Are
you sure that you’re okay?” asks Mom as she opens the fridge.

“I have a dream this morning. We have beef party and I’m craving for
one,” I reply.

“Well, let me see,” she peers into the fridge, “we don’t have beef.
Guess that we have to eat chicken.”

“Ask Dad to buy them when he’s on his way back,” I say. I really,
really want the grilled-beef.

“Why don’t you ask Stefan to deliver the meat? He’s a werewolf and
werewolf normally eats meat,” she closes the fridge and starts to wash
something in the sink.

“What?” I raise my head abruptly and unfortunately I fall down from
the couch. “Ouch!” I rub my head. It’s going to have a huge bump up there.

“Alice, honey, are you okay?” shouts Mom as she hears the loud thud.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I mutter.

“How about I make grilled-chicken? Is that okay with you?” asks Mom,
still shouting.

I ponder for a while. Grilled-chicken is good too, but I’m craving
desperately for grilled-beef. Oh well, as long as I can eat for dinner, its
fine.

“Okay, Mom!” I shout and climb lazily on the couch and lay flat,
again. I don’t know why I’m craving so much for grilled-beef. Am I going to be
a werewolf? No way!

“You won’t turn into a werewolf, Alice. It’s normal for vampire to
crave for beef. Everybody loves beef,” Jeff appears out of the blue and makes
me yelp. This time, I don’t fall down the couch. Thank God!

“Alice, what’s wrong?” shouts Mom.

“Nothing, Mom. I nearly fell from the couch,” I shout. “What are you
doing here? I didn’t summon you!” I hiss angrily at Jeff who is snickering seeing
my shocking face.

“Sorry. I just feel a little bit bored being inside the necklace. I
forgot to tell you that I can come out anytime that I want,” he grins.

“Don’t ever do that again!” I warn him, still in hissing voice. I
don’t want Mom to get suspicious when she hears me talking alone in this living
room.

Then, the door opens with two tanned-skin boys entering the chamber.
I burst into laughter.

“What happened to you? You guys look like scorching lobsters!” I
laugh. Jeff laughs out loud too but no one hears him except me.

“Don’t laugh, Alice! It was all Dad’s fault!” screams Ace in agony. “He
forced us to play golf for 3 hours. And then, he drove us to the beach for
sunbathing!”

“Hello there, little buddy! Look what I got for you?” Dad appears
with his beaming face, holding a plastic of seashells.

I roll my eyes and he laughs. “You know what, that’s your mother’s
favourite habit. Rolling her eyes. Beautiful,” he kisses me on the cheek. “Hey,
honey! I’m home!” he rushes to the kitchen and I can hear Mom squeals in joy. I
don’t know whether Dad brought something nice to her, or they’re just being
romantic in the kitchen.

Kitchen is their favourite for kissing. Weird, huh? Well, we’re not
normal to begin with.

We have dinner which is grilled-chicken. Sable and Ace are fighting
over a drumstick as usual. Mom nearly turns them into chickens. I have a
wonderful dinner since Jeff’s death. Mom puts a frame of Jeff near the dining
table so that we feel that Jeff is eating with us. Well, Jeff is eating with us now but no one can see
him except me. And he’s really enjoying his meal.

Few days pass and it is time for me and Beatrice to go back to the
Academy. Raven, Raina, and Ace are going to for they have been promoted. Raina
is the one who is still squealing with joy that she can join the Academy. We
board the train, like usual, together with the Silvers. This time, another
Silvers joins us too; Tavis. So, Raina gets super excited seeing her fiancé in
the train. They nearly turn us all deaf.

When I reach the Academy, I teleport to my room to say hello to Abby.
She has arrived yesterday and she’s so glad to see me. She says that she really
misses me during the break and I tell her that I’m fine now. I can’t wait to go
to the class tomorrow for the new semester will begin since Alse won’t disturb
us for long. We’re going to have a night class for we’re now nocturnal.

I go to the Vampire Parlour at the north wing to pay respect for
Jeff. Portraits of memorable heroes are hung there. I walk around the parlour,
looking at every portrait of my great, great grandfathers. But there’s no portrait
of Vlad, the first vampire. Maybe they only hang his portrait at the Main Hall.
Then, I stop at Jeff’s portrait. He’s wearing a silver cloak, showing that he’s
the First Commander. I feel proud of him when I look at his picture. Then, my
eyes catch something below the portrait. I take a step closer. There’s
something written there.

Jefferson Amber-Black (1712
– 2012).

My eyes widen. Jeff had been living for 300 years? Then, how old am
I now?

Thursday, 14 June 2012

I can’t stop gazing at the picture of Jeff. There’s a big sickle
around his neck. Jeff was wearing black in that picture and his face looked
calm in his eyes closed; like he was willing to die. I look up at Amanda and
Marc. Amanda lowers her gaze when my eyes meet hers. Maybe she thinks that I’m
going to get mad for not telling me earlier.

“You’re the Seer?” I finally speak after the long silence.

Amanda nods slowly.

“And I’m the Teller,” says Marc. “Amanda can draw something that she
sees or dreams, while I can tell the meaning of her drawings.”

“I can’t believe it,” I shake my head. “I heard that there’s a Seer
and a Teller in our family and I never, ever expected the two of you.”

“I’m…I’m sorry, Alice, for not telling you about this,” mutters
Amanda, trembling. She’s nearly in tears.

“Hey, it’s okay, Amanda,” I reach across the table and place my hand
on hers. “I’m not mad at you. Ever. I’m glad that you show me this.”

“Amanda drew this picture the night when you came to our house. Do
you still remember the ball that Dad held when you’re having your break?” asks
Marc.

“Yeah. The frog massacre,” I roll my eyes. It was the night when
Aunt Ada exploded and turned Harley into frog. How can I possibly forget that
night?

Amanda and Marc giggle. Amanda wipes her tears. “After that night, I
suddenly had a vision. I quickly ran to my room and got my drawing paper. It
was happening so fast. When I finished drawing, I was shock to see the picture.
So, I called Marc and showed this to him. He told me that something bad might
happen to Jeff. We gathered our courage to meet Jeff that night and Marc told
him everything,” Amanda sighs heavily.

“How did Jeff react when you told him the truth?” I ask.

Marc clears his throat. “Jeff didn’t say anything but smiled. He
said that he had a dream where he met a Death God. He said that his time will
come. Then, he told us to keep this secret from you before he left. He didn’t
want you to worry about him. Everybody knew about his death, except you, Alice.
We felt really guilty for not telling you but we had to keep Jeff’s promise,”
he says in a low tone.

I close my eyes and try to remember the night that I fought with
Jeff. He forced himself to scold me so that I hated him and left the group.
That was his last wish. He didn’t want me to witness his tragic death. He knew
that he’ll die. Mom and Dad knew. Ace and Sable knew. Everyone knew!

“There’s one more drawing that I would like to show you,” says
Amanda. Her voice is barely whisper.

She shows another picture. It’s a picture of a place full with trees
with no leaves but branches. I stare at the picture and focus on something
weird in it. I see a creature, a black creature with yellowish eyes and there’s
a spot of light in the middle of its body. I think I know this place. It’s the
place that Jeff and I only knew!

“You saw this in your dream, Amanda?” I ask, staring at Amanda with
an inquisitive expression.

Amanda nods. “Yes. I saw this place last night. That’s why I told
Dad to come here so I can show you this. I saw you and Stefan walking to this
place.”

Did she just say Stefan? Stefan knew this place too? This is getting
confusing.

“Oh, before I forgot. Jeff gave me this, two nights before his
death. He wanted me to give it to you,” Marc hands me a CD.

I take the CD and both of them excuse themselves to leave. I totally
forgot that they are not nocturnal like me. I stare at the CD as they leave my
room. I switch on my laptop and play the CD.

Jeff appears on the screen. He’s sitting on a sofa and looking
straight at me. “Hello, Alice,” he greets. “When you see this video, I’m
already dead.”

Silence.

“Okay, I know. It’s lame,” he rolls his eyes. Then he chuckles. How
I miss his chuckle so much! Then, Jeff clears his throat. “But it’s the truth.
I record this video to let you know a secret. Do you remember the place called
Path Beneath the Feet? I took you there once when you’re very small. It’s an
enchanted place where only chosen people can enter.

“Do you still have the necklace that I gave to you before the final
examination? That necklace is the key to open the path. After you watch this
video, I want you and Stefan to go to Path Beneath the Feet. There’s a group of
creature called SimpleThing, an elemental spirit which has a tip of light on
their left chest. Find a SimpleThing that has emerald tip on his left chest.
Match the necklace to the tip of light and you’ll find the answer.”

Then, Jeff sighs.

“I know that you must be sad when I’m not around anymore. I knew my
time will come when Amanda showed me the picture that she saw in her dream. Please
don’t get mad at her. She’s a super sensitive girl,” Jeff chuckles, and so I
am. “I know you have a strong will. No matter what happen, Alice, I will always
be with you. Always. I love you, little buddy. Until next time,” he smiles and
waves goodbye.

The video ends. I can feel warm tears trickle down to my cheek. I
quickly brush them off. I have to be strong, no, I am strong! I close the
laptop and call Stefan. I tell him about the video and what Jeff told me to do.
Stefan says that he’ll come to my house. I tell him that I’ll wait at the
backyard gate.

I go to the backyard without telling anyone. They will know,
eventually, as this mansion is surrounded by strong magic to prevent Alse from
coming. But the dangers are lessened since Alse drank the false blood. It might
take ages to heal herself. I don’t need to wait long for Stefan as he appears
few minutes later with his superbike. I hop on his bike and direct him the way.

We reach a thick forest after 20 minutes ride. Stefan parks his
superbike beside the road. We need to walk on foot from now on. The air is cold
but it doesn’t affect me much.

“Is this the place?” asks Stefan.

“Yeah. We need to walk to reach there. This necklace will show us
the way,” I reply and take out the necklace. The light glimmer and a green
glowing arrow point appear.

“Look likes a compass,” says Jeff. I nod and we follow the pointed
arrow. I don’t know how long we walk but we reach a stream. Green algae glows
in the dark.

“God, I miss this place,” I whisper out loud.

Then, we see an opening not far from where we stand. The door is
open. I hold Stefan’s hand firmly and together we walk through the opening. As
we pass through, we can see lots and lots of SimpleThing. SimpleThing is a dark
brown creature that floats in the air. There’s a tip of light on the left
chest.

Jeff told me to find a SimpleThing with emerald light. I look
around, right and left. It’s quite hard to find it. Then, the light from my
necklace glows brighter and brighter. After that, I see one SimpleThing
floating towards me and touch itself to the necklace. Suddenly, the light glows
too bright that I need to close my eyes.

I slowly open my eyes and shock to see a man who is standing in
front of me. I can’t even utter a word as my gaze lock to his. Stefan is also
in shock. We can’t believe that he’s there, a person that we miss the most,
standing in front of us.

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Black. Vampires love black. Black is a symbol of night. Most of the
nocturnal creatures love black. Black is very related to us, vampires. Our
cloaks are black because we can hide easily in the shadows. Black is also a
symbol of elegant. Those who wear black considered as rich.

But the black that I wear today is not a symbol of elegant. It’s a
symbol of death. Everyone, who attends this funeral, wears black. I used to
like the colour black, even I asked Dad to buy me a black coffin, but today, I
hate wearing it.

Today is the funeral of Jeff. After what happened last night,
everyone is in shocked, especially my family. I’m standing between Ace and
Sable, who are still sobbing since early this morning. Mom also can’t stop
crying since she lost one of her children. She haven’t stop calling Jeff ‘my
baby’ when we brought his dead body last night.

The funeral takes place at the Academy, the underground level, where
the dead bodies are kept. Luminous candles are being put around this chamber;
the Chamber of the Death. This chamber is quite huge, I think, because most of
the clans gather here for the funeral. All of them are wearing black and they
are all very sad of Jeff’s death.

I don’t listen to what Uncle Anders is saying – he’s been chosen to
be the Priest tonight. I can’t help but stare at Jeff’s cold body. His face
looks very calm. I remember every single word that he said to me before closing
his eyes. Tears stroll down on my cheek, again.

Few minutes later, Jeff’s body is put inside a black coffin with
silver carvings. Everyone mutter the death hymn as the lid is closing. I mutter
the hymn too, but I can’t stop my tears from falling down. I begin to sob. This
is the last goodbye for Jeff. I wish I can bring him back alive. I wish I
didn’t say I hated him when we quarrelled over an itsy-bitsy thing.

When the funeral ends, everyone slowly departs upstairs, leaving my
family and the Silvers. Dad ushers Mom upstairs and Ace and Sable join them
next. The Silvers too, leave the chamber except for me and Stefan. I stare at
the coffin, hoping that Jeff will come out and tell me that this is only a
prank, a joke, or whatever it is that will make me surprise and start to scold
him. But the lid doesn’t budge.

Stefan and gently touch my shoulder. I turn to him and hug him
tight. I cry as long as I want. Stefan strokes my back without saying anything.
I know that he too, is sad because Jeff was very close to him.

The next day, my family and I go back to Sewra. I’m having a break
for two weeks since Alse won’t be around for this time being. She drank the
false blood that night. She’s supposed to drink my blood and then Stefan – this
is according to Grandma Zelda when she told us before the funeral begun, but
she drank Jeff’s instead. Jeff had used the forbidden spell to turn himself as
me and tricked Alse. That’s why Alse melted horribly that night. Grandma Zelda
said that she might not be able to turn out for a long time. After all, her
seal hasn’t broken yet.

I lock myself in my room, not talking to anyone. I even turn off my
cellphone. I take my supplies to my room and I just sit near the window,
looking outside. No one dare to console me, not even Mom and Dad. They know
that I need time to heal myself to become normal again.

I spot some pictures in the frames on my table near the bed. One of
them is the picture of me and Jeff when we celebrated my 16th
birthday. Jeff came back from the Academy and bought a CD-Player for the
present. That’s the thing I wanted the most, back then.

Jeff was the most cheerful person in my family. He liked to crake
some jokes with Dad and spent most of his time with me, before Ace was born. He
liked to venture outside of the house, went to the pond to catch some tadpoles,
and he always dragged me along.

And when we played with Zayne and Stefan, Jeff never left me behind.
Once we climbed up to the top of the tree to search for a bird’s nest and I
nearly fell down. Jeff carried me on his back after that so that I didn’t fell.
Of course I won’t die falling off the tree but it’s going to hurt lot.

Jeff loved ice-cream, strawberry flavour. He always bought a box of
strawberry-flavoured ice-cream and kept them in the fridge for the whole week.
He said that he couldn’t live without strawberry ice-cream. Mom sometimes
forbade him to eat those because he always skipped brushing his teeth before
going to sleep. That was one of the bad habits of Jeff. He also liked to pick
his nose, like I did. He’s the one who taught me that. An absolute pleasure
according to him, which is true.

He liked to play baseball. We played pitch-and-toss every evening.
Sometimes he brought me to the baseball park to watch him play, while I waited
for him at the bench with Stefan. We’re too small to play with the bigger guys.
Jeff was good pitcher. His throw was very fast. Dad said that he got strong
hands.

Jeff hated cockroaches. He despised them as he was afraid of them.
He always screamed when he saw a cockroach running around on the floor,
especially in the bathroom and I was the one who rescued him, because I’m not
afraid of cockroaches. But when the cockroach flew, both of us will scream in
terror, running like a headless chicken.

But Jeff was the bravest when it came to fight. Dad trained him
martial arts when he was young and he didn’t scare of his opponent, until he
died. I heard from Beatrice that Jeff took the risk to trick Alse even though
it will cost his life. He said to Beatrice that he did that because of me. He
knew something that I don’t. And he was really good in keeping secret.

I walk to the window again and sigh. The evening sky looks beautiful
today. I can see Maddison, Lacey and Sabrina are merrily playing with their
puppies. They look happy even though they know that Jeff couldn’t play with
them anymore. Jeff was always played with them when he was around. Jeff loved
kids very much and kids love him too. Three of them cried when they heard the
news about Jeff but they manage to overcome their sadness.

I think I should be like them. Even if I cry all day long, I can’t
bring Jeff back to life. Life must go on; I still remember what Grandma Maegan
said during the funeral. Everybody is still sad about the death but they still
continue their normal life. And I think, this is the time that I should get out
from this room, go outside and face the world, make everybody happy because
that’s what Jeff wanted me to do.

As I open the door, I hear a sound of music filling the hallway.
Someone is playing the piano in the music hall. I walk to the stairs and the
sound is getting louder. I know this piece. It’s Ode to Joy, the first piece
that I learned from Jeff. Jeff loved this piece very much. I hurry to the music
hall, wanting to know who’s playing the piece.

I slowly enter the music hall since the door is widely open. I see a
guy plays the piece with a smiling face. My eyes start to water. This person
knows has lightened up my sorrow heart. When he realizes that I am approaching
him, he gives me his sweetest smile and his fingers are still connecting with
the keys. Tears can’t stop flowing down my cheek as I hug him tight.

“It’s good to see you again, Alice,” whispers Stefan as he hugs me
in return.

I can’t utter a word. I cry once again in his embrace but this time,
I cry because I’m happy. I’m happy because he came and tried to cheer me up.
After that, I let him go and wipe my tears.

“Thank you for coming here, Stefan,” I sniff.

“Ace told me that you didn’t come out from your room since you came
back here. He didn’t know what to do so he asked my help. Everyone is worried
about you, Alice,” says Stefan.

“Yeah, I know. I just…I need time to…,”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he caresses my cheek. “I know that you’re strong
to face all these. I also feel the lost of my good buddy.”

We talk for a while before Mom and Dad come and greet me with joy. I
told them that I’m sorry for making them worried. Stefan stays here for dinner;
Aunt Ada is very delightful and I think she’ll cook some extra meal for Stefan.
Aunt Ada loves guest, especially the guest that will be the part of the family.
Besides, Uncle Anders and his family arrive surprisingly as we are preparing
for dinner. He only brings 4 children with him, including his lovely wife, Aunt
Ramona. Everyone is delightful on his arrival. This dinner is going to be
merry.

Uncle Anders is very happy to see me back to normal again. He says
that he’s worried about my condition after the tragic incident. I tell him that
I’m fine now. Deena, Andrew and Harold have something to do so they couldn’t
come and join this wonderful dinner. There are lots of thing that I want to
talk to Deena. Well, I guess I’ll just send e-mail to her. It’s been a while
since I had a last chat with her at the Academy. She’s too busy with her tasks
but sometimes she bought some time to spend with me and Abbie.

After dinner, Stefan excuses himself to go back home. He says that
he’ll come again tomorrow to play with my cousins. I also need to rest my mind
after being thinking too hard upon Jeff’s death.

“Alice, can we meet you for a while?” calls Amanda as I’m going back
to my room. She seldom talks to me as she’s a very shy person. Her brother,
Marc, is standing next to her.

“Sure. You can come to my room,” I smile and usher them to my room.
Luckily, it’s not too messy. At least they can sit comfortably on the soft
carpet. I wait for them to explain rather than reading their minds.

“I want to show you this,” Amanda takes out a piece of drawing on
the table.

About Me

Disclaimer

The stories in this blog are 100% original. There are no plagiarism, no copy and paste from other books or resources.

All the ideas and plots pop out from the head of yours truly. I got the ideas and inspiration to write everywhere; when I was driving my car, when I walked down to the class, when I was daydreaming inside the toilet and I even got the idea in the dreams.

There might be some similarities with other books in terms of characters and titles. But all the stories originally come from my head.